Currently, affairs are tumultuous, to say the least. International markets stumble; European borders slam closed; turmoil bubbles. It’s foolish to think fashion exists in an isolated cocoon, or an ivory tower, ignoring the world outside its rarefied sphere. At base, it’s foolish because these things—economic sanctions, falling stock, stymied global movement—affect the buying patterns of even the world’s richest. No one is wealthy enough to be insulated from the rest of humanity. On another level, an intelligent, intuitive fashion designer naturally seeks to make work that represents the time in which they live, and contributes to a wider cultural landscape. They’re part of the conversation of their times. What touches more people than the clothing on their backs?

That’s how Miuccia Prada operates. For one of the most willful, singularly talented, and individualistic designers working in fashion today, her output is marked not by her own whims but by a curiosity about other people, about the world she lives and works in. “That is what is really interesting,” says she. “What people relate to, what fascinates them, how the fusion of fashion and culture makes people react.” Miuccia Prada’s clothing is interesting because, at the end, she is interested in life, in her times, and in representing that through clothing.